Mythology Rebooted
Chapter 127 - 89: This World Has Ultimately Changed_2

Chapter 127: Chapter 89: This World Has Ultimately Changed_2

He could imagine the scene, with Hefei certainly being the one full of tea etiquette.

Smack!

Hefei took out four packs of sealed silk stockings from her briefcase and asked Wayne if he wanted to make any changes to the packaging, as he was the designer of the stockings and his opinion was very important.

Wayne took them and looked them over, finding the packaging simple, very much in line with the style of the era; he then opened it and stretched out the stockings with his fingers, feeling the texture with his fingertips.

Limited by industrial standards, the finished stockings had a seam that couldn’t be erased, looking like a black vertical line had been drawn on the leg when worn.

"What do you think, anything you’d like to say?" Hefei held her breath and looked intently at Wayne, lifting her skirt a bit higher to demonstrate the stockings more directly.

Next time please use Veronica as the model, thank you!

Wayne didn’t look at Hefei. Frowning, he asked, "What’s the anticipated selling price?"

"20 Xianling a pair."

"How many pairs have you stocked up?"

"Twenty thousand."

"Make it 50 Xianling, stock up a hundred thousand pairs, spend half a month on promotion. This is the first batch, raise the second batch to 200 Xianling..." Wayne rapidly explained his marketing methods.

Promotion was simple—find some tall, leggy models to wear the stockings, especially at public places and high society gatherings, which were excellent advertising venues.

Hefei hesitated and said with doubt, "One hundred thousand pairs for the new market’s first batch, isn’t that too big a stockpile? And isn’t the price of 50 Xianling too high?"

"It’s not high. To me, pricing the first batch at 50 Xianling is just charity, like giving away a hundred thousand pairs of stockings for free. It even pains my heart!"

Wayne shook his head, his hand feeling light as if it lacked a cigar, and said, "But let’s leave it at that. After all, it’s a new market and initial investments are inevitable. If we lose money on the first batch, consider it a promotional expense."

Hefei was surprised by Wayne’s confidence and couldn’t help believing a bit in her good-for-nothing husband’s words. Was he really not afraid of stumbling with such a matter-of-fact attitude?

Wayne smiled slightly, "From a lady’s perspective, you and Priest Flora have proven the potential of silk stockings. And from a man’s perspective, remember to observe Mr. Austin’s eyes tonight; he’ll show you through his actions why your student is so confident."

Wayne was brimming with confidence; he had heard many legends about silk stockings and knew there was no lack of market for them.

During the war, nylon was classified as a strategic material, and silk stockings were thus released in limited quantities. Countless women spared no effort to get a pair.

In the black market, a pair of stockings reached sky-high prices.

Wayne was not very clear about the specific amount, but he was very certain that the first batch of stockings would be snapped up as soon as they hit the market, with the price subsequently climbing and still selling like hotcakes.

Many women drew a black line on their legs to pretend they had stockings.

Just 20 Xianling, just twenty thousand pairs in stock—this was an underestimation!

Even if the ladies agreed, he, Wayne, would be the first to disagree.

They had to raise the price. It was a must!

Hefei believed him mostly but not entirely, thinking about giving her useless husband some benefits tonight to see what kind of look he had on his face.

He couldn’t possibly eat people, could he?

"By the way, how are your basic magic lessons going? Do you need your ’sister’ to consolidate them for you?"

"No need, Veronica has introduced me to a private tutor." Wayne brushed past the subject without delving into it.

Upon hearing it was a teacher found by his daughter, Hefei was immediately reassured. She did not overthink it but was very curious about how the good-for-nothing would perform and decided to go home immediately to change into a miniskirt.

"Teacher, are you familiar with Dragonheart Island?"

"I am. What about it?"

"My detective agency received a commission from the White Glove Association to investigate a wealthy man’s suicide on Dragonheart Island." As a newcomer, Wayne evaluated the risks and aimed to be cautious in all things.

"Then take a trip there; staying in one place will only limit your horizons. It’s good for young people to travel and stay active."

Hefei moved next to Wayne in an instant, hooking his shoulder with her hand, and considered for him, "However, being alone on a long journey can make one homesick in the still of the night, which is a hard feeling to bear. How about I recommend a lady for you to travel with? It’s good to have someone to look out for each other, right?"

The lady you speak of, she wouldn’t happen to be your daughter, would she?

"No need, teacher. As you know, besides magic and investigation, there’s no room for anything else in my eyes."

Wayne shrugged off the arm on his shoulder and sternly refused, putting himself in other’s shoes; if his little cabbage was to travel far with some lecherous guy, he would surely deploy men on the cruise ship to cause a ’concrete barrel falls into the sea’ accident.

Hefei had no choice but to give up.

...

That very night, Lily arrived as promised. The gym was very close to Wayne’s home, and she planned to stay over again this evening.

She even brought several sets of clothes and some daily necessities for girls, packing two suitcases to the brim, showing no sign of being a guest and treating it just like her own home.

Wayne didn’t know how to judge this unguarded behavior, feeling he could easily get Lily drunk and have his way with her with the slightest effort.

What a pity I can’t taste it!

The Magician Girl trusted him so much, yet he was contemplating getting her drunk; that was definitely tentacle monster behavior.

In order to honor the friendship and to respect Lily’s trust, Wayne decided to let his guard down as well and not to be outdone by her.

Afterwards, Chris arrived as promised. She had research classes at school during the day, so she could only tutor Wayne in the basics of magic in the evenings. To make traveling back and forth easier, she also brought two suitcases.

Some simple daily necessities, the rest were all teaching materials she had compiled.

If it got too late, she would stay overnight and return to the school the next day.

What a great girl, scholarly and courteous, gentle and generous, and particularly trustworthy; Wayne looked at the full box of teaching materials, and in that instant, he even thought of a name for their child.

The butler Philark bowed his head and left, his one eye twinkling with an ambiguous light. He felt it was necessary to clear out a room to serve as a nursery.

It’s better to be safe than sorry; sooner or later, it would come in handy.

A moment before dinner, Veronica arrived at Wayne Manor with a dark face.

Domestic violence!

No one knew what had happened; the father had been beaten again and was thrown out of the window, landing in the garden lawn.

When asked, he wouldn’t speak, only muttering with his face covered...

It seemed he was quite happy!

Veronica could no longer make sense of this family.

She hated the discord between her parents, and she hated her mother’s use of violence even more. Whatever conflicts they had, they should be able to sit down and communicate properly; why resort to violence at the drop of a hat!

By comparison, there was much less pressure at Wayne Manor, surrounded by greenery and particularly peaceful...

Veronica: (눈‸눈)

"Your house is really lively, isn’t it!"

"It’s okay, they’re all friends. Why don’t you move in and live here for a few days?"

"Dream on, I would never move in."

Veronica grumbled, learning that Lily had already arranged her own room and that Chris had prepared to stay for the foreseeable future; she sat huffily at the dining table.

"I’ll be going on a long journey soon; I’ve already had the butler make copies of the keys for you all. You can come over anytime, don’t consider yourself an outsider," Wayne spoke his heart out, as he had never seen the three of them as outsiders.

After dinner, Wayne invited Teacher Chris to the study. As an eager student, he had long yearned for a one-on-one tutoring session.

Wayne was very self-aware, reckoning that with his intellect, his senior sister would need to tutor him for at least three to five years before he could barely graduate.

In three to five years’ time, the senior sister should be teaching children to read.

Brilliant!

Smooth transition, simply perfect.

Wayne was feeling quite pleased with himself when he was just stepping out when the Dragon Blood Girl grabbed the collar of his shirt from behind, bringing him to an abrupt halt, almost choking him.

"Where are you going on your long journey?"

"To deal with a commission on Dragonheart Island in the North Sea," Wayne touched his neck, lamenting how the girl was becoming more violent with him; when they first met, even a glance seemed superfluous to her, and she was reluctant to even shake his hand.

"What about the diary?"

"Today, I have already written a few Chapters, tomorrow I will write a few more. The diary is in the bedroom, remember not to lie on the bed while reading it."

Wayne waved his hand and casually reminded Lily not to be noisy and not to run back and forth in the corridor, as studying required a quiet environment.

With that, he closed the study door, and locked it from the inside.

Click!

Veronica and Lily stared at the closed door, big eyes meeting small ones, their blonde heads coming together, pressing their ears to the door for a while.

A moment later, the two murmured to each other and left, having spoken some unknown words.

————

Time came to August 5th, a black car stopped at Lundan Port.

Wayne exited the car, took the suitcase handed to him by Philark, waved goodbye, and then boarded the North Star with his ticket in hand.

At a nearby outdoor café, the celebrity Lily Hayworth put on her sunglasses and burned a photograph in her hand, which she then placed in the ashtray.

"Wayne..."